The Wisdom in Living a Simple, God-directed Life!

19 Jul 2024 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Proverbs 3:5.       Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

And then it was Friday… but the shouts of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday! were not as loud or as plentiful as they usually are because many people are still in disaster mode and don’t have the enthusiasm, energy or faith to raise their voices in praise. But raising out voices in praise is exactly what we ought to do in dire situations because acknowledging God raises our levels of energy, enthusiasm and faith, despite our negative circumstances. 

And to make matters worse, this morning there’s been a technological breakdown with a computing firm called Cloudstrike, which has paralyzed systems and events all over the world. It’s not a hacking or invasion of the system but a technological problem and hopefully by day’s end it will be corrected. But in the meantime many institutions, both large and small cannot carry on their business as usual. Consequently, a large portion of the population has also had their activities curtailed by the outage. 

It just shows the tremendous reliance we’ve placed on technology and the worldwide difficulties it causes when something goes awry. But that’s the way of our current world, Information Technology (IT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are now ruling the roost. And we’re now experiencing what can happen when we place all our eggs in one fragile basket, for though technology is wonderful when it works properly, but the smallest wrinkle can cause monstrous problems. 

We just have to learn to handle those times when technology lets us down. And the first thing we should always do when unexpected situations arise is go to God in prayer for wisdom and strength to handle them. He is our guide and protector and will NEVER lead us down the wrong path. And we have God’s faithful promise of that from way back when Moses said it to the Israelites: ‘And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.’ (Deut. 31:8) 

Yes friends that’s the Lord’s ever-faithful promise! And since He does not change, as this commentary tells us: ‘Malachi 3:6 says, “I am the Lord, I change not.” Hebrews 13:8 says Jesus is the same “yesterday, today, and forever.” When everything else shifts and changes, you and I are still standing on a solid, unchanging foundation.’ Wow! What assurance we have my brethren! 

And furthermore God doesn’t lie, as the Bible assures us: ‘God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?’ (Num. 23:19)  That means whatever He promises, or says He’ll do, it will be done! Matter fixed! And when it comes to seeking godly direction, these wise words from the wisest man who ever lived, Cousin Sol, should be our guiding light. 

‘Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy way acknowledge him, and he shall direct (make smooth or straight) thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel (body), and marrow (strength) to thy bones. Honour the Lord with thy substance (possessions), and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses (vats) shall burst out with new wine. My son, despise not the chastisement of the Lord; neither be weary of (detest) his correction: for whom the Lord LOVETH he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.’ (Prov. 3:5-12) 

Oh friends, those are verses to live by! Why? Because they encompass all of what God expects from us! Trusting in Him, and not in ourselves; having a reverential fear of Him and not engaging in evil; honouring Him by being generous in our relationships, first to him, and then to our fellow man; and not despising His correction when we do wrong. If we follow those basic desires of God, then our paths will be straight, our bodies will be strong and healthy, our lives will be prosperous; overall, the Lord will cause His face to shine upon us. 

But yuh know what? Our intelligence and information levels have risen so much in the last century, that we no longer focus on the simple things in life, everything now needs to be more sophisticated and complex, otherwise it’s not worthwhile. But friends, the simple things have always been, and will always be the best way to go. And we’ve said that to point out the simple commands that Cousin Sol lays down for the perfect Chrisitan life, but we try to make it much more complicated than it ought to be. And hopefully, this time around, those simple directives will stick in our minds and we’ll put them into action and thus simplify out much too complicated lives. (smile) 

Now, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant to help with our earthly problems. Altogether: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough…  because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help. 

Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly. And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times. 

We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’ 

And if we truly desire divine aid, then we’ve got to set a better example as believers in Jesus Christ! Much LOVE!

…Jesus lived a simple life for a reason…it was the easiest and best life to live…

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

Today’s Scrip-Bit   18 November 2022   2 Timothy 1:12.

18 Nov 2022 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

2 Timothy 1:12.       For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against (until) that day.

Then it was Friday, and we all gleefully shouted: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday, and the work week is finally finished! It’s time to begin the weekend party!’ But not so fast friends, the activities of some of us in the wintry climes will probably be curtailed by flurrying snow this weekend. So please check your weather reports and make sure you are well protected if you do go out. And if you don’t have to go out, then don’t! This is the time of year that that phrase comes in very handy. (smile) 

Now here is something else that will also make us smile cheerfully. It’s a poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin, aptly titled ‘I Do Know.’ So, please read with me. ‘There is much I cannot begin to fathom concerning the vast, indescribable universe created by our majestic God. There is much I will never comprehend. I want to sing and shout, so utterly overwhelmed I am with the magnitude of God. But I do know with confident certainty that I belong to the God of the universe – the Creator of all that exists. 

I know that I, a mere mortal, am forever linked to divine destiny. I know that my life has purpose and dignity. I know that God has chosen me as the object of His lavish LOVE; that His thoughts toward me are thoughts of kindness and mercy; that He has inscribed me in the palms of His hands. I know that all the LOVE of the Father, and the life of the Son, and the power of the Holy Spirit are freely, inseparably mine – now and throughout all eternity. This I do know!’ 

Oh my fellow believers, what beautiful and oh so true sentiments! And I like how so many important scriptures are intricately and dextrously weaved into it. However, the question now is do we believe all of that? Do we know it in spades, without any doubt whatsoever? We know that with our finite minds we can never truly comprehend the vastness of the universe, but are we overwhelmed by the magnitude of our mighty God? Do we believe that we are truly ‘linked to divine destiny’ and that our lives have ‘purpose and dignity’ built into them by our heavenly Father? 

And do we truly believe that we are the ‘objects of His lavish LOVE’, with wonderful thoughts of kindness and mercy focused in our direction? And what about the fact that He has inscribed us in the palms of His hands eh? Does that ring true in our spirits, bodies and souls? For our sakes I hope so, otherwise we are lost and sadly in great danger in this evil and terribly sinful world. And one last question, possibly the most important; do we know that ‘all the LOVE of the Father, and the life of the Son, and the power of the Holy Spirit are freely and inseparably ours – now and throughout all eternity?’ 

Yes my brethren, that’s the billion dollar question this cold and snowy Friday morning in the middle of November 2022. Do we know the One True God, He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? The One who created the universe and all therein? The One who LOVED us so much that He sent His only Son to die on the cross at Calvary, using His precious, sinless and holy blood to purchase our sin debt in full? Yes friends, that’s the same God who LOVED us so much while we were yet sinners, that He couldn’t wait for us to change, but had to give us a good reason to change, through the coming of His Son Jesus Christ to earth in human flesh to show us what a great and merciful God He truly is. 

But enough of my yakking, (smile) let’s see what scriptural promise that poem was based on. And it comes from Bruh Paul’s second letter to Timothy, where he is exhorting the young preacher to endurance. He encourages Timothy early in that section, by telling him: ‘For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of LOVE, and of a sound (disciplined) mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; Who hath saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world (time) began.’ (2 Tim. 1:7-9) 

Oh my faithful brethren, the Lord God has purposed our lives through Jesus Christ from even before He created the universe and all therein. That means we’re not placed in these times by chance, but by God’s perfect design, and are expected to do His will for our lives. But finally, here’s the verse on which our poem is based. Bruh Paul goes on to tell Timothy: ‘Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher unto the Gentiles. For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against (until) that day.’ (2 Tim. 1:11-12) 

Now, it’s that last verse on which all of our poem and our lives turn! Are we ashamed of the gospel of Christ, the One we claim to believe in? And are we fully persuaded that He can keep all that we have committed to Him until the day of judgement? I won’t get into it, but leave us all to contemplate our own situations. Here are some thoughts on the subject though from the scholars. ‘Persuaded: The perfect tense indicates that “I was persuaded in the past and remain so now.” That he is able to keep refers to the assurance of salvation which is committed…against that day, when we will stand before the judgement seat of Christ.’  

And today is a good a day as any other to ponder what that scripture means in our individual lives. But as a group of believers, let’s go to the throne room in prayer, offering up our Friday Chant with thanksgiving, pleading for divine guidance. Altogether now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… what with all the anxiety, the confusion and havoc that the several viruses and our many other problems are causing. We can’t seem to fix it on our own Lord, that means we desperately need your help. 

Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat both the viruses and the simmering unrest in our land. So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give the governments and those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the wise guidance to handle the situation properly, with the least amount of loss to life and property as possible. And please help those of us who must go out to work amidst all the confusion, to be responsible and to stay safe, and avoid any more serious setbacks. 

And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to bring a lot of backsliders back to your fold, show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a whole new flock, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. Yes Lord, please use this pandemic, the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land that’s threatening to boil over, as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’ 

Now my fellow saints, we need to make the necessary changes in our lives and our hearts, that will convince the Lord that we are serious in what we’ve just prayed. Much LOVE!

…to live for Christ…means to suffer with…and if necessary…die for Him…  

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ